Monthly Archives: September 2017

The Nebraska prison system has been slapped with alawsuit, alleging lack of accommodations fordeaf inmates. The problem is not that wardenswish to refuse accommodations, but that thestate prisons are so overcrowded, makingfair and just accommodations impossible!A picture is at:

Brandon Tucker is deaf-blind. He is the owner ofhis cross-fit gym – CrossFit Feliciana, locatedin Saint Francisville, Louisiana. There was anewspaper story about him – he probablyfunctions as a hearing person, despite hisprofound deafness.

— a fishy excuse

DeafDigest mentioned that a deaf man was refusedservice at a Burger King drive-in in Columbus,Ohio. The server who refused him service (andlost his job for that reason) said:

We didn’t know you were deaf

It is fishy because the deaf driver handed himhis burger order on a piece of paper and itwas refused. Would a hearing driver writedown his order on a piece of paper at adrive-in window?

Iowa does not require licenses for spoken interpretingin different languages for hearing immigrants (Spanish,Arabic, Russian, Chinese, etc). Yet for ASLinterpreting it requires a license. And to applyfor a license ASL interpeters must pay $120.00.There is a small loophole – ASL interpreters canwork for four years – with minimal supervision –without having to apply for a license. But whenfour years is up, it is a different story!Making things worse is that the Iowa legislativebody have been avoiding this issue. A pictureis at:

Walmart is in hot water with the U.S. Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission. The Walmart store in Beloit,Wisconsin suspended a deaf-blind employee, who wasemployed for 16 years (with no problems). Thenew Walmart manager didn’t like him, and suspendedhim, saying he lacked paperwork that certifiedhim as deaf-blind. It was never a problem with theprevious managers! The Walmart corporate managementsaid the company does not allow discrimination andis hoping to reach an agreement with EEOC andwith the deaf-blind employee.

— 342 year old deaf woman

A deaf woman at the age of 342? Well, peopletha love science fiction would know about the“Electric Dreams” TV episdoes in GreatBritain. The latest episode involvesIrma, the 342-year old deaf woman thatis slowly approaching the last days ofher life!

A Burger King outlet in Columbus, Ohio refused to servea deaf driver at the drive-in window. The server whowould not serve is no longer employed. The deaf driverfiled a formal complaint; Burger King gave him anapology and a free meal. See the picture of therefusal at:

Jasmine Fillmore, is a deaf-blind student atUniversity of Kansas. She is a member of theStudent Senate Rights Committee, and ameeting was scheduled. The interpreter nevershowed up! Volunter committee members hadto text her the meeting proceedings. Theuniversity has not commented on why theinterpreter never showed up.

— ADA compliance not a priority with many police leaders

Alex Vitale, not deaf, is a a sociology professorat Brooklyn College (NY). He said many police leadersdo not give a priority with ADA compliance. Somethingto do with lack of understanding of deaf culture.Doesn’t matter how many ADA workshops and ADAseminars at police academies and with in-housetraining sessions, ADA is still not a high priority.Very sad and very concerning.

We already know about the story of a lifeguard, whose brotheris deaf, and wanted to help the deaf during the hurricanein Florida. Not only he was not RID-certified, he reallydidn’t now any sign language and just said “pizza, monsterand bear” while the speaker gave instructions on how toevacuate. Why didn’t the Manatee County officialsask for the lifeguard’s interpreting credentialsin the first place? See the picture at:

A police academy spokesperson said that all policerecruits go through four hours of training onhow to deal with the deaf. And that during annualworkshops, all police officers are retrained.Four hours! Enough or not enough? Do keep in mindwell trained police officers who may have neverencountered a deaf person in years may forgetwhat to do – even when he is being annuallyretrained.

— a supermarket success story

Shoprite is a big supermarket chain in South Africa.And there is a deaf success story. Philemon Lempe,just 27 years old, is the general manager of aShoprite store in Lenasia, a city within themetro Johannesburg metro area. What does hedo? Busy, busy and busy – all day – assigningstaff to different jobs in the store, pickingup trash off the floor, putting back cans thatcustomers picked up but left off elsewhere,making sure all food items are stocked upwithout running out and having to re-order,throwing out food with expired dates,making angry customers happy. Plus manymore. He always has his notepad and penwith him when customers come to him.His goal is to move up higher on thecorporate ladder.

Olathe is where Kansas School for the Deaf islocated, and people pretty much know aboutthe deaf. Maybe except the police! A formerresident of Olathe said his car stalled,making the police officer angry. The driver’spassenger was not deaf and the police officercame over, and asked for interpreting. Thedeaf driver told the officer that he hadto find an interpreter on his own. Thisonly got the officer angrier, pulling outhis gun. Tempers cooled. But the next daya complaint was filed with the Chiefof Police and the Olathe Chief of Policeand the Police Committee for Citizens withDisabilities. Yes, the complaint wasignored without an apology. A pictureis at:

Deaf MP Mojo Mathers, who served in the New Zealandparliament for six years, has lost her seat. HerGreen Party won only seven seats in the recentelection. Mojo was ninth on the party’s list,meaning first seven could only get parliamentseats. She is in the prcess of cleaning outher office and looking at employment options.As the MP she constantly fought for deafrights in New Zealand, and for that reason,fellow MP’s didn’t like her!

— another city requires TV captions (but a loophole)

Rochester City Council (NY) passed a new rule requiringbusinesses with TV sets to turn on the captions.This is great – but there is a loophole! Businessescan take down TV sets to avoid captions, and avoidmaking hearing patrons angry! Just hope it neverhappens. Deaf community in Rochester is that big.

A deaf child was not able to find a school in Ohio
because two school districts refused to accept
him. For some reason Ohio School for the Deaf
was not mentioned as an option!

The government of the Philippines is cracking down
on TV networks that have been dragging their
feet re captioning of TV programs for the deaf.
The law was passed but not fully enforced until
just now.

A group of young deaf people of Costa Rica are
being trained for jobs in the tourist industry.
Such jobs are tourist guides, waiters and waitresses, park guards, housekeepers and bellboys.

There is a project in the Deaf Maryland Community
to video-interview deaf individuals pretty much
involved with the good old days of deaf
telecommunications (TTY machines is an example;
and other one was FCC not willing to get that
involved).

A brand new Deaf Health Clinic Team has been
set up at the University of Michigan Health System.
Yes, it helps that the doctor is deaf and the
support staff know ASL plus with interpreters.

AUTOMATIC EMPLOYER EXCUSE
A deaf person was job-seeking. He could
not find a job.
During one interview, the employer says
all employees must be able to communicate
with customers, and that a deaf person cannot
communicate.
The deaf person said he could write his
responses on paper or through relay service.
The employer’s automatic excuse:

Sorry, I cannot hire you.

It happened in Great Britain, where there
is no ADA. If the employer said the same
thing in USA, he will be sued.

New Mexico School for the Deaf signed an agreement with
the state Department of Health on working together with
the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program.

Oregon State University are saying they have made
giant strides towards gene therapy for deaf patients.
Something to do with tinkering with a large hearing-
essential protein.

A big issue among deaf prisoners in Texas is that
they cannot use the TTY machines for one simple
reason – it is so obsolete that practically no one
uses it any more!

Scientists are always looking for deafness connections
between deaf humans and animals. Barn owl has been
studied because this bird does not become deaf
while getting older. A team at University of Oldenburg in Germany wants to know why there is no such a
thing as a “Deaf Owl”!

Nevada State University is beginning a new interpreter
training program – with the goal of providing the
Las Vegas deaf community with enough interpreters.

CAPTIONS ON UNITED AIRLINES
United Airlines that fly to Europe have captions
on some of their movies.
This is great – but what is not so great is
that most of their movies are not captioned.
Hearing people have more choices with their
movies; deaf choices are limited.

One of the most important pieces of equipment that every stenocaptioner owns is a steno machine. The machines that broadcast captioners and CART captioners use are the same machines that court reporters use.

Most people have seen pictures or videos of a court reporter’s machine on TV or in the movies. You probably have seen paper coming out that may look like adding machine tape to some people.

Most new steno machines do not use paper. All the steno note information can now be stored electronically. Captioners really have no need for the paper notes, but some court reporters still insist on having the paper notes to maintain as their permanent record. The steno notes can be displayed on most steno machines and printed out if desired.

Captioners may have the same sorts of feelings about their steno machines as other people have about their cars. Some people upgrade every couple of years and want the latest and greatest with all the bells and whistles, while others keep theirs for years and just hate to part with them even when they have “lots of miles” on them.

Do the deaf have better taste than the hearing?
Do not know, declares DeafDigest – but this was
the issue brought up by writer Tim Carman, not
deaf, in the Restaurant Section of the Washington
City Paper, September 21st edition.
DeafDigest editor has a vice – fondness for
fine food at pricey restaurants. That being
said – there are many hearing diners that do not
know the difference between a great hamburger
and a bad hamburger – but – the same goes for
many deaf diners!
In other words, ability to hear or the lack
of it has nothing to do with determining the
quality of food – only the discriminating
tongue would.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

News of the Week – Looking Back 5 Years Ago:

DeafDigest dedicates this edition to John Thomas Wheeler,
who departed us. A former resident of Huntsville, Alabama
and a former student at Alabama School for the Deaf, he
was an aeronautical engineer with the NASA. His list of
accomplishments is long, too much for this column.

Said an acquaintance:
He was a very bright and hard working man. Many respected him.

AUTOMATIC EMPLOYER EXCUSE
A deaf person was job-seeking. He could
not find a job.
During one interview, the employer says
all employees must be able to communicate
with customers, and that a deaf person cannot
communicate.
The deaf person said he could write his
responses on paper or through relay service.
The employer’s automatic excuse:

Sorry, I cannot hire you.

It happened in Great Britain, where there
is no ADA. If the employer said the same
thing in USA, he will be sued.